By Ibrahim Usman with Agency Reports
Commenting on the Zionist escalation of desecration of al-Aqsa Holy Mosque, Hizbullah and Hamas issued statement which called for action.
The Zionist attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque have turned to a daily affair, so that the occupation soldiers and settlers continue to violate the sanctity of the holy mosque.
They have been smashing the doors and desecrating its yards, floors, and squares.
This has led to the injury of dozens of people of al-Quds who stand alone, preserve it from the criminal occupiers.
The exacerbation of the “Israeli” attacks in this form, and which are repeated on a daily basis, confirms that the Zionists are moving without fear or shame.
They are feeling comfortable with the Arab silence as well as the international complicity and work on implementing their plans which aim at destroying al-Aqsa mosque and replacing it with their alleged temple.
As Hizbullah reiterates its condemnation of these crimes which have no end, it urges the Arab and Islamic peoples to take the initiative and stand by their Palestinian brethren in their permanent encounter against the Zionist practices in their defense to the holy sites and to protect its heritage and its history.
Isn’t it better if they [Arabs and Muslims] direct all the energies and fists to protect the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Islamic and Christian sanctities in al-Quds, instead of some rulers’ directing the fate of our people to tear the fabric of the nation and sow discord between the people and create unrest and turmoil in the ranks?
The Head of Palestinian Resistance movement, Hamas’ political bureau Khaled Meshaal urged the Muslims to defend the holy al-Aqsa Mosque, stressing that this “is true meaning of Jihad”.
In a statement from the Qatari capital, Doha, Meshaal said: “We call on all our people inside the country to hurry up to al-Aqsa to defend it,” after the after Israeli occupation forces restricted the entrance for Palestinians.
“We call on the nation to be angry and to send a message of painful anger to the world that the Palestinian people, the Arab and Muslim nation, will not be silent at the Israeli crime,” Meshaal added.
When asked if such a call might trigger another conflict soon after the deadly 2014 Gaza war, the Hamas leader said: “Nobody wants a war, but it’s our right to resist and preserve our rights. We are under occupation…We have been resisting for one hundred years and will continue.”
“Al-Aqsa is worth us becoming martyrs for, and anyone who can carry a weapon in the region should go and defend it, as this is the true meaning of jihad,” Meshaal added, prompting alarm from both media and the region’s politicians.
The holy site has witnessed clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces in recent days.
Palestinians are angry over Israeli-imposed restrictions to the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.
Palestinian demonstrators also hold Israeli settlers responsible for provoking tensions there.
The al-Aqsa compound, which lies in the Israeli-occupied Old City of al-Quds, is Islam’s third-holiest site after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.
Israeli occupation forces detained 17 Palestinians in occupied al-Quds on Wednesday evening, as Israeli authorities continue to impose restrictions on Palestinians seeking to enter the Holy al-Aqsa Mosque.
Earlier on Wednesday, clashes broke out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli occupation forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied al-Quds amid visits by right-wing Zionists.
Israeli forces fired stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets towards worshipers and chased them out of the compound. Three Palestinians were injured during the clashes.
An Israeli police statement said all men under the age of 50 would be prevented from entering the mosque. Though the statement said women would be allowed into the compound, witnesses said all women were denied entry as well.
Late Wednesday, clashes continued in the East al-Quds neighborhoods of al-Issawiya, Jabal al-Mukaber, and alleyways of the Old City.
Seven Palestinians were injured in al-Issawiya as Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.
Four children were detained for allegedly throwing stones.
In Jabal al-Mukaber, Israeli forces detained Islam Ayman Salim Ewisat, 12, and another unidentified youth. In the Old City, police detained five teenagers.
Earlier, police detained seven Palestinians during a sit-in protest in Wadi al-Joz.
Last week, over 60 Israeli settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound under the protection of “Israeli” police after the latter forcibly removed Muslim worshipers from the holy site, attacking some of them with clubs and injuring dozens.